U.S. to replace travel ban with targeted restrictions, says report

The U.S. is preparing to announce targeted travel restrictions to replace an earlier controversial travel ban aimed at visitors from six Muslim-majority nations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security is recommending country-by-country restrictions for about eight or nine nations that have not met standards on counter terrorism efforts and passports, U.S. officials said.

Officials had originally expressed concern about 17 nations, but many of those subsequently addressed the concerns and were not included in the proposal.

Trump’s travel ban faced a series of legal challenges that are to be heard by the Supreme Court in October.

However, the court allowed a version of the ban to go into effect while the case proceeds through the legal system.

The ban was crafted to expire 90 days after implementation, but the clock only started ticking after the Supreme Court allowed the ban to start, pending review. That period comes to a close Sunday.

The travel ban was first announced in January, just days after Trump took office.

The president revised it in March to address legal concerns in an effort to temporarily bar people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S.

Trump has vocally defended his position, which opponents argued was discriminatory against Muslims. The administration argued it wanted time to review visa procedures for the countries.